Athena Film Festival honors Ava DuVernay, Gale Anne Hurd, Molly Haskell

Gale Anne Hurd will receive the Laura Ziskin Lifetime Achievement Award The Third Annual Athena Film Festival: A Celebration of Women and Leadership. Additional awardees will include Ava DuVernay, Molly Haskell, Rose Kuo, and Pat Mitchell.

New York, NY – Barnard College’s Athena Center for Leadership Studies, along with Women and Hollywood, announce that the third annual Athena Film Festival, A Celebration of Women and Leadership, will take place February 7-10, 2013 on Barnard’s campus in Morningside Heights. Honoring extraordinary women in the film industry and showcasing films that address women’s leadership in real life and the fictional world, the festival will include Q and A sessions with producers and directors, Hollywood conversations and special workshops for women filmmakers.

The Athena Film Festival is proud to announce this year’s recipients of the Athena Film Festival Awards, which honor noted actors, directors, producers and other members of the film industry for their leadership and creative accomplishments. Gale Anne Hurd, producer of The Walking Dead, will receive The Laura Ziskin Lifetime Achievement Award. Additional awardees include Ava DuVernay, director of Middle of Nowhere and founder of the African-American Film Festival Releasing Movement (AFFRM); Molly Haskell, film critic and author of the landmark film book From Reverence to Rape: The Treatment of Women in the Movies; Rose Kuo, executive director of the Film Society of Lincoln Center; and Pat Mitchell, president and CEO of the Paley Center for Media.

“The Athena Film Festival does such an excellent job in highlighting THE MANY TALENTED WOMEN WORKING IN the film industry. To be selected as the recipient of this year’s Laura Ziskin Lifetime Achievement Award is TRULY an honor and I thank them for this recognition,” said Gale Anne Hurd.

Artemis Rising Foundation joins as the Founding Sponsor of the Festival. The Ford Foundation’s JustFilms is a premiere sponsor. Regina Kulik Scully, Founder and CEO of Artemis Rising Foundation, will serve as a festival co-chair along with Debra Martin Chase, Diablo Cody, Greta Gerwig, (Barnard College ’06), Diane and Jon Levin (P’13), and Mira Nair.

“Artemis Rising Foundation is delighted to be the founding sponsor of the Athena Film Festival,” said Regina Kulik Scully. “To partner with a festival which is so deeply invested in supporting and acknowledging women in the film industry is a great privilege.”

“We are thrilled to be honoring these extraordinary women,” said Kathryn Kolbert, co-founder of theFestival and the Constance Hess Williams Director of the Athena Center. “They have demonstrated courageous leadership in the industry, notable artistic achievements and a commitment to helping other women break barriers.”

“The festival’s films and special events showcase women leaders from across the globe,” said Melissa Silverstein, co-founder and artistic director of the festival and founder of Women and Hollywood. “Film lovers from across the region are in for a treat — an inspiring weekend of films thatcan help us re-imagine what leadership looks like.“

Early bird passes for the festival are now available online. Individual ticket sales begin January 7, 2013. Please visit http://www.athenafilmfestival.com for regular updates and to purchase passes. The Festival’s line-up, as well as partnership announcements, will be released in coming months.

About the Athena Center: Established at Barnard College, the Athena Center for Leadership Studies is a catalyst for the education, development and advancement of inspired and courageous women leaders worldwide. Renowned civil rights attorney, Kathryn Kolbert, is the Center’s Constance Hess Williams Director. For more information, visit: http://athenacenter.barnard.edu
About Women and Hollywood

Women and Hollywood operates at the intersection of feminism and entertainment. In only five years of existence, it has grown to be one of the most respected sites focused on women’s issues and popular culture, and its founder, Melissa Silverstein, has become a well-respected leader on the subject. For more information, visit: http://blogs.indiewire.com/womenandhollywood/